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Sunday, November 28, 2010

When it comes to doing Christmas cards, for the past few years I have always done a photo card using a photo of my dog(s). For a couple of years I used Shutterfly but then the following year I decided, partly due to my own financial situation and also wanting to get them done locally, I switched. After looking at a sample of one done locally, I thought I was getting the same quality - I soon learned that the card was not as good as Shutterfly. And I didn't save any money either on the ones that I had done locally. So, I decided this year, I am going to go back to Shutterfly and yes, I can order photo cards at this later date and still get them in plenty of time to send them out in time for Christmas.

So far, I have only used their photo cards but they have many other products that you can personalize such asHOLIDAY CARDS, HANUKKAH CARDS and my favorite -PHOTO CARDS. They also have several other products such as birthday cards, birth announcements, mother's day cards and invitations - check out there website for more information -

It's super easy to produce your own greeting card - you will need a Shutterfly account which is free. Then just upload your desired photo(s) and choose the card style you want to use - some designs will let you use more than one photo. Just follow the easy directions given each step of the way. The greeting on the card can also be personalized to say exactly what you want. And finally, at this special time of year, Shutterfly is giving you a special opportunity to try their products -Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, follow the arrow àhttp://bit.ly/sfly2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

(after Shasta tellz her story then we will give our Christmas shoppin'list of what we wanna give our mom)

Part 1 - Shiloh Beaglebratz comes home

It wuz around the early part of May of 2003 – I wuz out in the yard with my doggy mom’n my sisterz’n my brutherzplus my dad’n one of my unclez wuz around sumwhere tu. The day wuz sunny’n warm - nuthin wuz any different – we wuz all scramblin’around,either wantin’ tu eat that stuff in the pan or followin’ doggy mom. Then we saw this big thing with thoze 4 round thingyz – doggy mom told us it wuz called a car, it moved up not far frum us. Tu female hoo-minz came out’n walked over tu us then started talkin’tu my hoo-min mom then started playin’with all of us. A bit later, I herd one of the female hoo-minz talkin’tu my hoo-min dad – “I don’t no how tu chooze, which 1 du u think iz the best?” Huh – chooze what? Best what? And why wuz she askin’my hoo-min dad? Well, in case no one else haz figurd it out yet – this nu female hoo-min wood soon b my nu hoo-min mom – yep, on May 16, 2003, I moved tu my nu home with my nu hoo-min mom’n now I had a hoo-min aunt sis tu’n a hoo-min cuzin. When I got tu my nu home, my nu hoo-min mom took me outside – then while I wuz outside with my nu aunt sis, nu human mom went in the house – I wuz skeerd she mite leave me then I’d b all alone in this nu place. But no – there she wuz agin’n walkin’b-side her on the ground wuz anuther little doggy, ‘bout my size tu – well akchually he wuz a little taller than me(however that wood soon change). We walked up tu each other‘n we introduced r-selves – Hi, I guess I’m the nu kid here – kin we b friendz? He sed, Hi – my name iz Oreo’n I bin here fer a long time so that makez me the boss’n yes – we kin b friends tu ….. but I AM the boss. Even with r size difference, we soon b-came best buds. An'I also found out I had a doggy cuzin - her name wuz KenzieR'member I told u about how the size difference b-tween me'n Oreo wood change - well it did, within a few monthz

There were other changez tu - mom'n me went tu skool - alot then there were testz'n then we started duin'sumthin that I really love - mom takez me tu vizit difrent places. That'z part of the reezon that Shasta came tu live with us. One day, mom told me that my real doggy sis,

Tess, had babiezThen later, when we were sittin' tugether, she sed, "Shiloh - I love u'n u haf turned into a really good dog'n u r part of the reezon I want tu bring 1 of thoze babiez here." At furst I thought - well I wuz born a dog so what else wood I b-come? Anyway, that iz how Shasta joined r family butt I will let her tell u'all about it.

Part 2 - Shasta Beaglebratz comez home

Hi - this iz Shasta speakin'n that iz a pikchur mom took of me when she ferst came tu c me. Like Shiloh, I wuz outside in the yard with my doggy mom an' brutherz'n sisterz when sum nu hoo-minz came by tu vizit. The 2 new hoo-minz liked me alot'n 1 of them took many pikchurez of me'n played with me more than the otherz - I guess u cood say I felt speshal.

But then they left'n I wuz all alone with my doggy mom'n brutherz'n sisterz. The dayz went by'n sumtimes it wuz cold'n then got warm butt we all were in the house with r hoo-min mom so life wuz good. Butt then, thoze nu hoo-minz came bak only we wuz all in the house this time. An'then the nu hoo-min that took all the pikchurz, she held me up'n put sumthin' around my nek. I didn't like that thin' around my nek but I liked bein' held up'n the nu hoo-min held me close tu her'n I wuz there all by myself - didn't hafta share - yep, I wuz speshal fer shur. Butt then we left my old house'n my old hoo-min mom - the nu hoo-min wuz still carryin'me - I didn't no what wuz happenin'. Yep, I wuz kinda skeerd - but I wuz excited tu - I must b purty speshal tu go on an advenchur with these nu hoo-minz. Purty soon, I found out I haf 2 doggy cuzins-they r Kailie'n Bailie'n they wuz a lotta fun-

I found out that their hoo-min mom iz also my aunt sis'n I haf a hoo-min cuzin tu. FINALLY we got tu where my nu hoo-min mom livez - yep, I found out this nu hoo-min that holds me'n playz with me the most - iz now my nu hoo-min mom; Bailie told me. Ok, here iz me'n Shiloh - shortly after we met fer the furst timeHe kinda reminded me of my doggy mom - only bigger butt he haf the same colorz. Don't worry, we wuz just playin' in that pikchure. He'z the best - he letz me stalk him then attak - sumbody sed I must b part kat - I don't think so. Sumthin' told me my nu hoo-min mom wood b good tu me - she made me feel spechul - she had got me a Fluffy Pup'n it wuz there waitin'fer me that furst nite in my nu home cuz my nu mom thinks I am 1 of the bestMe'n Shiloh soon became great friendz'n we loved playin' tugether-an'even tho I grew up, we still play An' mom'n me bin tu skool like Shiloh'n mom - we took sum testz tu. This iza pikchure of me after the testAnyway, the reezon I am tellin' u all this iz b-cuz it means mom lovez spendin' time with me'n sharin’me with otherz. I love spendin' time with mom tu!. We du all kinda thingz tugether.

----------------------------

Well there is lotza stuffz we wood love tu give our mom fer Christmas - we love her so much an'she duz alot fer us. If we had 87 gazillion green paperz, we wood git our mom the nu house she wantz - she sed the one she wantz wood b a little smaller than the one we haf now butt it wood b eazier fer all of us tu live in tu.

BUTT, mom sez b-4 she cood sell the house we haf now, it needz a few thin's fixed up - so we wood like tu du that fer our mom tu - fix whatever our house needz fixin'.

Mom sez she wishez she cood help all the pupz'n kittiez git better an'all thoze that need a furever home - she wishez she cood help them git one. We no that iz a whole lotta helpin'BUTT we wood love tu give her more than we really can.

BUTT, there r sum stuff we can give our mom that won't cost us any green paperz which iz good since we don't haf any - we just hopez she lovez theze prezentz az much az we love givin'them. FURST, me'n Shasta r gonna give tu our mom, all the snuggles an'cuddlez we haf tu give. 2ND, we r gonna give her all the kissez we haf. 3RD, since I-Shiloh-am the one who cauzes mom the most grief b-cuz of my great butt wrong, counter-surfin'ability, I pledge tu werk on NOT duin'this (butt mom no'ze how hard this wood b fer me - it iz a Beagle's rite). 4TH - since we now r soooooo very happy tu c mom when she gitz home after she haz a hard werkday - we pledge tu keep duin'this - may-b du sum happy-dancin'tu.

Ok - this may b a werk in progress - our gift list fer our mom. If we think of more - u can b shur we will add it tu our list

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I was going thru some Christmas pics from Shasta's first Christmas - 2006 - she was about 10 weeks old. I know I have talked about it before but to refresh memories or if someone is reading about it for the first time - the pic was taken over at my sister's where we went for Christmas Day. The 2 Westies are my sister's - Bailie & Kailie. Anyway, before we left our home, Shiloh'n Shasta got to open their gifts from Santa Paws and a couple from mom - they each also got a stocking to go through. Each stocking had several treats in them - treats that were just loose/not wrapped or packaged. A treat fell out of Shasta's stocking and she went after it like any dog would. Well, maybe Shiloh was thinking - what does a little pip-squeak pup know about treats (more likely it was just instinct or desire to eat) but anyway Shiloh beat Shasta to the treat and in the process besides barking at her, Shiloh also ended up giving Shasta a little nip on her ear. At first, it looked like no lasting damage or anything needing a vet was done however after we all had been at my sister's for awhile, we noticed that Shasta was acting a little lethargic and upon closer inspection of her ear, there was a little puncture wound on the lower part of her ear which

was oozing just a wee little bit,

we ended up going to the 24hr. vet - Shasta spent her first Christmas with a stitch in her ear.

(and probably wondering

what kind of a family she was now a part of)

I am not sure but I think this pic may have been taken BEFORE our trip to the vet. I didn't realize the look on her face until AFTER the pic was uploaded. Here is a close-up. Here is a tag I had made from a pic I had taken after our trip to the vet-

(I think puppies have this innate ability to

know when to turn on that

"poor me" look)

PS - We are having Thanksgiving tonite since my nephew is leaving early Thursday morning to fly down to Phoenix - part of work with the women's volleyball team at our local university - the team is playing in a championship tourney. I will be spending most of Thanksgiving Day watching the parades and decorating.

Monday, November 15, 2010

We asked our mom tu du this fer us (I'm doing their spelling too, bark for bark). Mom got her carpetz cleaned this past Friday - we had tu endure confinement in the bedroom with NO bed. Stuff still ain't all moved bak - she iz SHUR sloooooooooo. She tried tu git the 'puter werkin'later butt the mousey thin'didn't wanna werk so gonna try agin tunite. Now this confinement thin'- it ain't bad fer Shasta cuz she haz more room in the gated kichen BUTT mom iz NOT lettin'me haf the whole house tu roam in like she did. At least our comfy chair iz still in the kichen. Anywayz, we will b bak later sometime

In mom's defense - the carpet hasn't looked this good for at least 5-6 years and kinda want to keep it that way, for awhile at least.

(By the way, this post iz kinda long so grab whatever u want to make your stay here more comfortable but we wood appreciate it if u'all read thru our entire post)

Mom Beaglebratz here – thank-you Shiloh and Shasta. Today I heard some real distressing news on the radio – made only more distressing by the fact it actually happened a couple of weeks ago here locally and our news station is just now reporting it. One day, our local Highway Patrol made a startling discovery on the side of the highway - a severely injured Mastiff - she was near death. You can read more of what I first readHEREThe Highway Patrol first thought when they picked up the dog and took her into a local vet that she had been hit by a car. They took her into a local vet here in town but it was not until she was picked up by someone from a rescue group in Denver and examined by their vet that it was determined that the dog they named Porsche had been severely beaten in the head by what they believe to be a baseball bat. After Porsche was taken to Denver, a Facebook page was developed called Justice for Porsche and the rescue group is NSC Rescue in Denver, Colorado. I am happy to report that Porsche is doing better after surgery to repair the severe head trauma that was so maliciously inflicted on her. If you go to the rescue's site or the Facebook page you can see updated pictures of Porsche. She will remain in foster care for a few more months to facilitate her recovery and rehab. At last report, whatever form of human did this, they have not been caught and because I tend to get a little paranoid, especially since the gate to my backyard was left open this past Friday (was this deliberate - it was done while I was at work and no yard work or maintenance was scheduled that day - yes, the Beaglebratz did get out since I was totally unaware of the problem and let the dogs out when I got home. They were caught within the hour and are safe)

Ok - now I turn the blog back to the Beaglebratz -

Ok - Shiloh'n Shasta bak now an'we iz really ticked off (an'we DON't mean that little bug either) we iz mad az h@!! (U'all can figur out that fer yourselvez) We iz gittin'REALLY tired of never no-in'when or how, the blogz in out pet community blogville will b attacked next.

BUTT, lettus bak up a little. Du u'all c that little red'n white sign up there in the center of our blog - rite above this post - among other stuff there is a stop sign. Stop az in don 't take our pikchurz an'other stuffz frum our blog unless u talk tu us furst - espechally if u iz sumhow makin money frum it. Now it'z kind of an unnerstandin'here in the blogville pet community that we often swap pikchurz BUTT we no fer shur that we iz all furriendz here an'we iz ONLY duin'it fer fun - THAT IZ THE ONLY REEZON! We Beaglebratz didn't use tu haf that little red'n white sign there butt then awhile bak, sumone - there were 2 of them - began takin'stuff frum Sugar, the Golden Retriever'zblog an'then claimin'it wuz their'z. One of them even claimed they "didn't no it was wrong". C'mon peeple, stealin' iz just that an'no matter where u du it - that duzn't make a difference - IT'Z WRONG! - DON'T DU IT!

Now this next item we r discussin' iz 'bout what happened at

Puddlezblog earlier this week. Now we iz not gonna say much 'bout this, furst the so-called hoo-min duz not d-zerve any more time on our blogz than what he/she/it haz already had an'2nd, b-cuz Puddlez mom haf already sed good stuffz so eloquently in their blog. Also, Miss Minna Krebssed sum really good stuffz 'bout what happened over at Miss Puddlez' blog (we want to thank Miss Krebs fer allowin'us tu uze her WhoopAss pikchur - sumhow it addz tu our post). We just wanna say - if u (the he/she/it) don't wanna take the time tu fully unnerstand an'comprehend what iz bein'blogged 'bout BUTT instead chooze tu comment only, well then u r more than welcome tu just buzz rite on by - we don't want u here. Just consider any blog in this pet commumity - OFF LIMITZ!

Ok - the Beaglebratz r all talked out fer now - we will b around, sumwhere. U'all haven't seen our pikchur fer a few daze so will leave u with that one above.Shiloh'n Shasta

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

According to 123holiday.net All Souls Dayis the day celebrating all friends and loved ones who have passed on. It is typically observed largely by the Catholic church altho really it is a Christian day of observance and usually celebrated on November 2nd. In observance of this special day, the Anipal Photo Hunt blog hop is dedicated this year here in blogville pet community to our beloved pets and trusty companions who have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.

I have had more than the ones shown here but these are the ones I have either scanned their pictures or I had my digital camera.

Did you ever have a dog or any pet when

you were in high school (for me - years ago)

that you wish you had now?

(excuse the poor quality - scanned photo)

Kammie is that one for me.

I got her from the pound and she was believed to be a Sheltie mix.

I got her for my high school graduation and

as a bribe to stay and not go to the college I wanted

for the reason I wanted - a move to a small farm and increase

in my involvement with horses was also part of the deal.

But Kammie was always active - even in her late years when despite

being almost blind and deaf, she would roam the country side.

She was the one who would always come running and jump into my arms

when I called. If agility had been as popular then as it is now,

I'm sure she would have been a strong contender.

But when I think of her, I think about the Christmas Eve in 1976 when I

came home from a 6 week hospital stay following a near-fatal surgery-

my head was totally shaved and I didn't look much like the "mom"

she (Kammie) remembered; when I walked in the door, Kammie growled and would not come near me. But as soon as I sat down and she heard my voice, that was all it took and she came over to me-

we were inseparable the rest of the evening-

she would not let me out of her sight.

This next little girl was Kryket.

Kammie was at the farm when Kryket came into my life as a little puppy-

I can't remember what the store said she was

(this was long before I knew about puppy mills)

but when I think about her I wonder about

a Border Terrier/Pomeranian mix

(how's that for a mix)

But she had the hair coat and her nose/head looks kind of like Border while she had the short legs/body and tail of the Pom.

Kryket came into my life following the still-birth of my first colt.

I don't remember a whole lot about Kryket except

she was always around -we never had to shut her in the house-

could usually be found around the house or up at the barn.

In 1990, I was living in a small apartment in town

(Kammie was still alive and living with my folks in a 3-acre suburban home)

June of that year my mom died then later that summer, when Kammie was found roaming the country roads (this is when she was almost blind/deaf),

the decision was made that instead of risk her getting hit by a passing motorist, (I could not have a dog in the apartment)

it was time for Kammie to cross over to the Rainbow Bridge.

(Believe me, the decision was not totally mine and if I knew about dogs then like I do now, that might have not happened - at least not that year) since Kammie was not really slowing down much in other ways and

my mom had just died a couple months before).

It would not be until early in 1991 when a

little black puppy with a small white spot on his chest entered my life - this was Oreo,

supposedly a Yorki-Poo.

For the past few years, even before Oreo crossed the Bridge

I always wondered if his breeding was something else

like Schnauzer and Poodle - he had absolutely no qualities of a Yorki.

Especially when a little older and when groomed,

his hair quality was more Poodle and

wirey like a Schnauzer than anything else.

Living in a small apartment, Oreo was the perfect size for the great companion he became. In the fall of 2001 - Oreo was 11, when we moved into our house. A couple of weeks after we moved, I was able to get the backyard fenced - one of my memories of Oreo is when he first experienced being loose in a yard that was good size - he had always had to be on a leash and did not know how to react to being loose with mom not real close by. At first he would follow me to the backdoor but he soon realized that he was free to sniff and roam til his heart content - I was thrilled to be able to give him some freedom.

I had never had two dogs at one time in the house and Oreo remained my only until May of 2003 when

Shiloh joined the family - they became best buds and despite the age difference and eventual difference in size,

they remained so until the day I had to make that difficult decision

This time, that decision was the most difficult-

it was totally mine.

Before, whenever one of my dogs made that last trip to the vet,

it was more of a family decision and I wimped out going.

With Oreo, that changed and I will never "wimp" out-

my dogs have given me the best years of their lives-

they have so earned my gratitude and respect and

it is an honor for me to accompany them as they begin their final journey.